The Mth Dimension
by Stormpixel
Summary: Ryker Lanceton, a fifteen-year-old teen, has been trapped in a cross-dream world. In order to return home, he must fulfill a prophecy. However, the Aetherians are especially hard on Ryker, and he may find that fulfilling the prophecy isn't as easy as he first thought. Join Ryker as he uncovers a web of lies, betrayal, love, and courage in the Mth Dimension.
1. Where Am I?

**Greetings, fellow readers and authors! My name is Stormpixel, and I am proud to present my first Fanfic: The Mth Dimension! Feel free to leave reviews; criticism is always welcomed. Enjoy!**

It was 10:00 P.M., Halloween Night, in the city of Richmond, Virginia. Ryker was walking down the path to his house, dark and cold and forbidding.

"What a night for broken lights," Ryker muttered to himself. Taking a look around, his lips tightened. The shadows seemed to be moving in the forest, unknown beings stirring inside the night. Pulling his jacket tighter around himself, he increased his pace. He shivered, but not from the cold…

He had finally reached his house, an hour later. Trudging into his bedroom, Ryker slumped across his mattress and struggled with his Minecraft Steve costume._ Oh well_, he thought, _I can take it off tomorrow_. Then he fell asleep.

Ryker woke up with a start. "Is it Saturday already?" Ryker mumbled to himself. Getting up, he looked around. His bedroom seemed…_different_. Everything was blocky! He tugged on his costume's sleeve.

And felt skin.

"What?" he asked aloud. Wrestling with his costume's…_skin_, he attempted to pull it off, but to no avail. "This must be some trick," he muttered to himself. "Or this is a dream." Then, Ryker took a look around. It seemed all too familiar…

The cubed landscape, the blocky terrain…this was Minecraft! He was inside the game!

Ryker took a quick inventory of his belongings, which didn't turn out to be much. "Backpack, journal." He noticed an oak forest, and cut down a few trees for wood. He crafted a table and prepared to construct a cabin against the cliff wall.

As he was constructing his night-house, Ryker became aware of some presence behind him. He turned around… and saw a skeleton, armed with a wooden bow, an arrow nocked to the string.

Ryker's Boy Scout instinct came to life and he tackled the bony figure, knocking it to the ground. Ryker flipped the skeleton over his back, turned 90 degrees and slammed the skeleton into the cliff face, jarring his collarbone and bruising his forearm. The skeleton, shattered into white shards, leaving a few arrows and bones on the ground. Ryker picked up the arrows, then made his way back to finish constructing his cabin. He fell asleep inside afterwards, too tired and exhausted to complain about the lack of a bed or a proper floor.

Ryker woke up with a start. Scratching his head, he looked around, taking in his surroundings. He was inside a wooden…cabin. It wasn't much of a cabin, with just three walls and to his left, a gray, blocky wall. Ryker stared out the cabin's door and saw sunlight filtering in. He shook his head and tried to get his system started.

Then he remembered.

He remembered the Halloween Night, and himself walking home, then falling asleep and waking up in this odd, square-like world, not able to remove his costume. He pictured himself collecting wood blocks and constructing his cabin.

And as all his thoughts settled, one thing popped up in Ryker's mind: A blocky, rattling, bony skeleton, holding a wooden bow in his hands, an arrow ready to fire.

As he had that thought, he became aware of a faint noise in the distance, outside the cabin.

Ryker wanted to investigate, for he was a very curious boy. Getting up, he started toward the door, then decided he wouldn't want to find anything unarmed, even during dawn. Ryker's eyes searched the cabin, lighting on his pack in the back corner. He picked it up, and heard a thumping sound as his journal dropped to the ground. Snatching it, he pushed open the door.

The door became stuck about halfway open. Ryker shoved it, but it still wouldn't budge. He squeezed out the space between the door and the door frame, and looked for the source of the infringement. It took him about five seconds to realize there was a fifteen-inch-long arrow protruding from the door. _Probably from the skeleton last night_, Ryker thought. He tugged the arrow free, cleaned it with his shirt, then set off in search of the strange screaming sound.

Nearly a minute later, Ryker heard it again. It sounded a lot closer this time. He quickly slid behind a block-tree and grabbed his arrow, the only weapon he had.

He heard the screaming once again, and he breathed through his nose, as calmly as he could. _Breathe_, he told himself. Then Ryker grasped the arrow tightly and spun around the tree trunk, and was confronted by a horrifying image.

It was yet another skeleton, on fire. Ryker was frozen in fear, then he remembered his father's fgolden rule of survival: _Always attack first._

Ryker had to act quickly, so he gripped his arrow tightly and launched himself at the burning skeleton. The skeleton grabbed his bow, struggling with the arrow. _Now's my chance_, he thought. Twirling the arrow between his fingers, Ryker threw it like a dart at the skeleton's upper body.

Maybe it was just chance, or some lucky maneuver on the skeleton's part, but at the last moment, the skeleton turned left to fire at Ryker, and Ryker's arrow only hit between the two upper ribs, its power depleted.

Ryker may have missed his shot, but that wasn't to say it wasn't painful. The skeleton screamed in rage and pain, and it released its arrow prematurely, bowstring twanging and the arrow going off-course, disappearing into the forest. The white skeleton turned to face Ryker, but then, fortunately, ran to a tree.

As the skeleton stooped under the tree leaves, the fire disappeared, and you could almost _swear_ the skeleton sighed in relief. Then the white figure faced him, and calmly nocked an arrow to the bowstring.

Ryker backed up against the mountain wall, knowing there was no escape. To his left and behind him there were cliff walls at least fifty-four blocks high on either end. To his right was the sheer drop of the ravine, and forward, facing Ryker, was the skeleton, holding the key to his end. Ryker closed his eyes, waiting for it to be finished.

Ryker heard the _twang – whizz_ of the bow and the released arrow, and he flinched, expecting burning agony.

Instead, he heard screaming start once again.

Ryker tentatively opened his eyes, and noticed an arrow; about sixteen inches in length, fired clean through the skeleton's leg.

The skeleton gave one last piercing scream, then toppled over, dead as dust.

Ryker had seconds to think of what to make out of all this until a hooded, cloaked figure stepped out from behind a tree, a bow in his hands. _Great_, Ryker thought,_ if it's not the skeletons who want to kill me, it's mysterious, camouflaged archers._ He started to raise his hands in surrender, until, surprisingly; the cloaked figure flipped the bow over his back and spoke.

"You are a human, yes?" the archer's voice was smooth and obviously well-toned to giving commands. As Ryker hesitated, the archer spoke once again, "Do not be frightened, for if you are human, then I am your friend." Ryker stepped forward.

"Can I trust you?" He was glad his voice didn't tremble. Ryker promised himself to never again show fear to the unknown. Ryker looked now for a response from the cloaked archer, wondering if he would take his hood off. It freaked him out; the man looked like Ezio form Assassin's Creed. As if reading his mind, the archer pulled back his hood and grinned.

"Of course you can. For if I weren't trustworthy, I would have been dead long ago," Ryker couldn't help but grin as well. _This man certainly looks trustworthy. However…_ he decided to ask him one last question.

"Do you know where I am? Where we are?" The man stroked his dark brown beard.

"Where are you from?" The archer replied. "Everyone knows this place."

"I'm…new," Ryker said, not wanting to reveal that he arrived here from his sleep.

The blonde-haired man grinned again. "Why, we're in the world of Minecraftia, of course. The original world, the first world ever created." He paused, adding effect. "The home of Notch, creator of Minecraft."

The blonde man took a few steps forward. "I forgot to introduce myself," He held out his hand in a friendly gesture. "My name is Lexarus. What's yours?"

Ryker shook his hand. By now he knew this man was fully trustworthy. "My name is Ryker. Ryker Lanceton. Fifteen years old, and in all modesty, quick, intelligent, and pretty handy with a pencil." He saw confusion cloud Lexarus' face.

"You fight with… pencils?"

Ryker decided to elaborate. "No, I meant I'm a good writer."

Lexarus opened his mouth to reply, but he was drowned out by an amazingly loud screech from above. Ryker looked up, and saw a huge, eight-legged black animal heading straight for his face!

"Look out!" Ryker turned and ducked, and watched as Lexarus fired three arrows, all in quick succession, at the animal's head. Two of the arrows found their mark, reaching the black-colored beast and burying themselves into its head. It gave one last piercing screech, and then fell still.

Ryker stared at the dead creature. He realized that it was a humongous spider.

Lexarus noticed him staring at the arachnid. "Spiders have always grown this big in the country," He explained. "I don't know why; just that they do." Then he took a step backwards.

Lexarus strolled over to the dead creature and picked up a small ball of a soft, white material. The blonde-haired man then tossed it to Ryker. The teen turned to Lexarus. "What is it?" Ryker inquired. Lexarus smiled and replied.

"It's called _string_. You may use it to make a bow or wool." He picked up the string, tossing it into his pack.

"Lexarus?" Ryker asked, "Do you have a spare pack that I could use?"

Lexarus turned toward me, confusion written all over his face. "You should already have one," he replied. "Did you leave it in your cabin?"

Ryker ran back to his cabin, Lexarus close on his heels. Ryker burst into his small, 3x3 house, looking around. He noticed a small pack toward the back of the cabin. Ryker walked toward it, picking it up. He heard footsteps as Lexarus entered his house.

"Got your pack?" he asked Ryker. Ryker turned to face him, then replied.

"Yeah, I have it," He compared his pack with Lexarus' pack. "Why is my pack smaller than yours?"

"That's most likely because you just arrived here," he explained. "As you survive through the nights and days here, your pack will grow larger." Lexarus unslung his pack. "I have been here for a long time," he spoke, his voice soft and quiet. "I have yet to find a way back home." He turned toward Ryker. "I expect you came from Richmond, Virginia?"

Ryker took a step backwards in surprise. "How… how did you know?"

"There are only a few gateways into this dimension." Lexarus clarified. "There are two gateways leading from Moscow, Russia. Those lead into the Deathlands." Ryker had a feeling that the Deathlands wasn't a happy place. "There is a gateway leading from Antarctica. That one leads to Antares' Castle." He continued. "No humans live on Antarctica, however." Shifting a bit, Lexarus spoke about the other gateways. "There are two gateways leading from Shanghai, China. Those lead to the Dark Forest. Additionally, there is one gateway leading from Richmond, Virginia. That one leads here. Finally, there are three gateways spread across France. Those lead to Flamefire's Cave. Considering that you aren't dead, frozen or on fire, I concluded that you arrived from the Richmond Gate."

Ryker took a moment to comprehend this latest news. "Who is Antares? And who is Flamefire?"

Lexarus answered swiftly. "Antares is a powerful warrior. He rules over the Ironlands, along with two other lords: Shadowstorm and Thunderbolt. Flamefire is a mystical hermit, known only in legends. No living human has ever seen him…and lived to tell the tale." Lexarus stood up from his sitting position. "Come, we must go now."

Ryker was perplexed at this. "Why? Where are we going?"

Lexarus stepped outside. "We must get out of here. We're heading for Tyrfing, Antares' Castle. Hurry, gather up your items and your pack. Oh, and you may need this." He handed Ryker a sword. "It's iron, so it should last you for a few days." Ryker hefted the sword into the air, feeling the weight and balance.

"Why do I need a sword? I mean, shouldn't it be safe out there?"

Lexarus grimaced. "It is never safe outside. At night, the hostiles come out of hiding. You saw the skeleton and the spider. There are zombies, skeletons, spiders, and creepers out hunting at night here. During the day, bandits, brigands and Claw-vetala operate along the roads." He unsheathed his own sword. Unlike Ryker's, his sword was a purple-bluish color. He sensed Ryker's curiosity. "It's diamond. It's been with me for a long time, kept me alive for two years." Lexarus started toward the forest. "Let's go."

**And that is chapter one! I hope you enjoyed it, and expect more chapters to come! Sayonara!**


	2. A Life for a Tale

**Hello, my fellow readers, once again! Here's Chapter Two, "A Life for a Tale".**

**Thanks for reviewing! Even though there was only a few, I remained hopeful! Be ready for some in-depth tales here, because Ryker is inching ever so slowly toward the prophecy. This chapter introduces a new concept in The Mth Dimension…read to find out! (By the way, I found that eating a snack or a meal during reading kind of helps get you **_**into **_**the story. Grab a pizza, a root beer or a juice, plop down in front of your ol' laptop and enjoy!)**

"Good grief, Lexarus, don't you have any variation on rations?" complained a very downtrodden Ryker.

Lexarus sighed and explained to Ryker for what seemed like the billionth time, that, as a loner, one could only hunt so many animals.

It wasn't the first time that Ryker had protested against the food variety. In fact, Lexarus wasn't so satisfied with the hunting, either. The pair was two days from Ryker's cabin, deep inside Thorntree forest. Due to the fact that Thorntree was more of a breeding place for monsters, and much less an area for significant animal life, Lexarus' hunting literally cleared out the place in minutes.

"I thought that forests were supposed to be lush and green, with majestic trees, packed to the brim with plant and animal life," Ryker remarked.

"Excuse me? This isn't _Bambi_, Ryker. In fact, this place is the exact _opposite _of your dream forest. No 'majestic trees' or 'animal life' here!"

Ryker sighed. He had to admit that, against his own feelings, Lexarus was indeed correct. The trees had no majestic quality to them, unless you could call being _packed together_ majestic. Moreover, the Thorntree was a gloomy, dark, and forbidding place. Definitely _not_ the sort of land that animals would choose as their dwelling.

Suddenly, a deafening _screech _erupted from the trees.

Lexarus' eyes went wide, as did Ryker's. "I-I-I t-thought no a-animal in this Dimension made that s-s-sort of n-noise," Ryker stammered nervously.

Lexarus, eyes still wide, was searching the trees around them. "No. No animal screeches in this Dimension. At least, not any _live _species…Oh, Notch!" his voice grew loud with urgency, and maybe a bit of fear. Drawing his sword, Lexarus shoved Ryker down the forest path. "Move, kid! You don't want to meet, see, or even fight this thing! Run!" Ryker, whose face was turning pale with fear and clearly entering a state of shock, stumbled and followed Lexarus' instruction. _If Lexarus fears this monster, fighting it may well be useless_, Ryker thought. The monster, whatever it was, let out another frightening _screech_, and the sound racked the pair's nerves. All Ryker could hear was Lexarus yelling _Run! Faster! Keep going!_ And the nerve-splitting screeches of the beast.

The two ran for what seemed like half an hour, until they neared the edge of Thorntree forest. "Look, there! I can see the way out of the forest!" Lexarus shouted at Ryker. "Keep going! Make for that edge!" Ryker did not hesitate, since that was where he was heading in the first place. However, they did not make it far.

Out of nowhere, a huge shadow _and _an equally large monster materialized on the clearing before them. Ryker and Lexarus halted almost midstep, then took a pace back in nervousness. The monster let out another one of its screeches. _Well, so much for not meeting this thing_, Ryker thought, kind of sarcastically. He turned sharply at the sound of a sword being drawn. Lexarus held his diamond-bladed sword two-handed, swinging it left, twisting it right. "What is this…thing?" Ryker questioned Lexarus.

Lexarus grimaced. "Later, Ryker! Let me deal with this 'thing' first." The blonde-haired man calmly stepped forward, toward the creature. The monster let out one last ear-piercing screech. And charged.

Lexarus entered his battle mode. The man swung his sword, two-handed, in a deadly horizontal arc at the monster. The creature, in contrast, simply continued charging, even as the diamond-plated blade cut through its chest-plates. Screeching, it slammed full-force into Lexarus, sending the blonde-haired warrior careening into a towering oak. Lexarus cursed as he felt his grip on his sword release, leaving the diamond sword five meters from the oak tree, where he was now. He was scrabbling for his spare iron sword when the creature, realizing that Lexarus was, at the moment, unarmed, sprung without warning at the prone figure. Lexarus slid the iron weapon from its scabbard just in time to meet the monster's attack. Due to the cramped space that the oak offered him, Lexarus could only use the lower three inches of the blade, parrying the creature's lunge awkwardly. He then had to switch direction as the creature's tail flew at him from above. He just barely managed to retain his grip as a large claw gripped his blade and yanked, throwing Lexarus off balance. The warrior lay sprawled on the forest floor as a shadow appeared over him; the creature was moving in for the kill. Lexarus cursed again and attempted to rise, but the creature's claw held him firmly to the ground. A long, whiplike form materialized close to him, then rose. Lexarus realized that the whiplike form was the creature's tail, possibly with some sharp blade at the end. He closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable pain to arise.

But all he heard was a _shing_ sound, a screech, and a thump.

Turning, taking care not to tear his clothes on the claw, the warrior grunted and took deep breaths, in haling and exhaling simultaneously. Ryker stood, wide-eyed, looking at Lexarus. Lexarus, for his part, stared in surprise at the Virginian boy, his gaze flipping between the boy's expression and the bloodied iron sword held by the boy's side. Ryker, for his part, simply stood, wide-eyed and fear-struck, staring at Lexarus. He tried to speak.

"I didn…I was…I had no contr…"Ryker's voice petered out as he continued to stare at his weapon. Lexarus, however, knew what had happened. He may not have seen the actual event, but he had heard, and seen, the same condition exhibited in others.

"This…this is extraordinary!" Lexarus exclaimed suddenly. The blonde warrior stood up. "Ryker, do you have any idea what this means?!" The raven-haired boy, still pale with fear, shook his head. Lexarus grinned, and placed a hand on Ryker's shoulder.

"You, my friend, are a rager."

Ryker stepped back a pace in surprise and confusion. A rager? What was a rager? To Ryker, a rager sounded like a killer. And he had watched enough crime shows on television to know that a killer wasn't an adored figure. On the other hand, he was in a different dimension. Perhaps a killer _was _adored here. "I'm…a rager? Sounds like a killer." He nearly choked the last word out. Lexarus, in contrast, seemed joyful about the situation.

"Yes, a rager is, in a way, a killer. But don't think that a killer is a murderer, Ryker. Many travelers have mistaken allies, killers, as murderers. But here, much is different. Much more different than on Earth." Lexarus looked at the now dead creature laid at their feet. He bent down to touch the body. "By Notch, I simply don't believe it. Not at all!" The body grew red, then disappeared, leaving a small, ball-like object. Lexarus picked up the ball, rolling it around. The end of the ball tapered into a sharp and dangerous-looking spike. "The creature you just killed was a Stinger, Ryker. A scorpion, if you will. Stingers used to be one of the many mobs, or animals, which populated Minecraftia. The Stingers divided themselves into different tribes. There were the three main, large tribes: The Redhawk, The Darkstinger, and The Treeclaw. Other Stingers created their own, smaller tribes. Most of these minor tribes consisted of only five to seven Stingers, or one or two families of Stingers. The three main tribes each had their own territory. The Redhawk resided within the burning Hawk Desert, hence the name _Redhawk_. The Darkstinger took the dark, shadow-covered Deathlands and the Treeclaw set up home in the thick, plant-covered Greenleaf Jungle. Once the tribes, large and minor, had settled in their appropriate territories, there was a moment of peace. Each of the tribes' traders would arrive in foreign tribes' villages, trading goods such as bones and food. However, this peace did not last.

"Before the monthly Stinger Gathering, the _Akhorani_, or leaders, would select seven to ten _Bakhai_, or warriors, to travel with him or her to the Gathering. Yes, female Stingers were also chosen as Akhorani," he stated, forestalling Ryker's question. "At the Gathering, the leader of each tribe would stand on the Stoneledge, a flat, large rock jutting out of the cliff wall where the Gathering was held. The leaders of two of the major tribes, The Treeclaw and The Redhawk, as well as the leaders of five minor tribes: The Blueshell, The Flame-eye, The Woodtail, The Coalsmelt, and The Ironsmelt, had already shared news. The story doesn't go into detail about the type of news the leaders had shared, only the events after. The leader of the sixth minor tribe, The Goldsmelt, was about to share his news when, unexpectedly, the leader of The Darkstinger, Fury-of-the-Night, or Fury, shot up and shoved the Goldsmelt leader, Metalwing, off the ledge. The other leaders had no time to react as Fury gave a fearsome war screech and the other fifteen Darkstinger Bakhai surged over the unsuspecting tribes.

"Remember, each tribe, other than the Darkstinger, had brought only seven to ten Bakhai with them. And, as this was a time of peace, the numbers, and their strength, had decreased dramatically. The Darkstinger's fifteen well-trained, war-toned Bakhai overpowered the Coalsmelt and the Blueshell in a matter of seconds. Both of the fallen tribes' leaders had also been killed. However, Fury, who was grappling with Metalwing, was almost evenly matched. The Goldsmelt territory was deep underground, so they had to fight off many other mobs. As a result, all off the Goldsmelt offspring and Bakhai were constantly training to develop good skill and strength. Metalwing was no exception.

"But Fury was twice as big as her opponent, and nearly three times as strong. Metalwing couldn't defend herself properly against Fury's onslaught, and collapsed, defeated, within two minutes. Once she saw her opponent collapse, Fury leaped for a random Stinger struggling to his feet.

"By chance, it was Hawk-that-catches-Prey, or Hawk, the leader of the Treeclaw tribe. He was thrown bodily across the clearing by one of the Darkstinger Bakhai. The said Bakhai tried to pursue Hawk, but Hawk's second-in-command, Owl-that-sees-everything, or Owl, saved Hawk by pouncing into the Darkstinger Bakhai and sending him flying into the cliff face. However, Owl was currently engaged with another opponent and couldn't aid Hawk now.

"Hawk managed to regain his balance and faced Fury, claws out, tail swinging from side to side. The two Akhorani circled each other, one swiping at the other with a claw, the other swerving to dodge and then counterattacking with the tail. This continued for some time until Fury, weary of circling, leaped at Hawk, claws outstretched. That maneuver turned out to be her downfall.

"Once Fury had leaped, Hawk halted and slid a few paces forward. Fury was almost to him now and he had only one chance to attempt his move. Turning ninety degrees, Hawk allowed Fury to grab his right claw. His left claw swung up and punctured three of Fury's eyes, causing immense pain to the Darkstinger Akhorani. Screeching, she lunged blindly with her own free claw, which also turned out to be her left. The two-pronged limb struck the grass a foot away from Hawk's eyes, and he jerked sharply away. Then, twirling Fury above his head, Hawk released his grip on her claw sending the Akhorani crashing into the rock wall. Fury fell, hitting the ground with a crunch. Hawk stepped forward, examining the Darkstinger leader. At this, Fury spoke, her voice the tiniest of whispers, so that Hawk had to strain to listen. She said only a few words: 'Beware, Akhorani. We hunt you to the last Stinger.' And with that, she fell dead. The remaining four Darkstinger Bakhai fled the clearing at the sight of their dead leader. Three others had already deserted the battle, frightened by their dead Tribe-mates and fear of their own possible deaths. The eight dead Darkstinger Bakhai lay at the center of the clearing, or otherwise pulled to said spot, where they were to be burned alongside their Akhorani. Many humans wonder about their giving a funeral to the Darkstingers. We suspect that the other tribes believed that they had fought well, and died in battle. Therefore, the nine dead deserved some type of a funeral, or death pyre.

"However, the nine dead Darkstinger Bakhai did not go easily. There were the dead Akhorani and Bakhai of the Coalsmelt and Blueshell tribes. Dead Bakhai from the Woodtail and Treeclaw tribes had to be found and buried. In addition, the wounded Bakhai and Akhorani from the surviving tribes needed urgent care and none of the tribes brought healers with them. So, once the farewells were said and the dead were buried and their graves marked, the remaining tribes made for their territories.

"And so began the War of the Stingers. Alliances were created, new trade routes marked out. Maps were introduced, giving the Alliances with intelligence forces an edge in the War. Food, water, weapons, and armour were key trade goods among the Alliances at the time. Most mobs learned to stay away from the War and its Battlegrounds, while other mob species decided to play a part in the War and join alliances. Soon, after a period of fifty years, the War ended, with the Treehawk Alliance gaining victory. The Darkstinger tribe was soon disbanded afterwards.

"However, the weakened forces drew predatorial attention, and shortly after the War ended, tribes were preyed on and killed by other, not-so-friendly mobs. Wolves and bears were among the Stinger-killers. The Stingers were soon driven out of their lands by the humans, into the Deathlands and the Dark Forest. So tells the scrolls of Time, at least those that we have discovered." Lexarus finished the tale. He sat up, stretching his legs and arms to drive out the drowsiness he felt. His mouth also felt parched and unbelievably dry.

"Thanks, Lexarus, for that story! I have a question, though."

"Yes?"

"What are the scrolls of Time?"

**And so ends yet another chapter! **

** As some of you may have noticed, this story does mention mods. Not mods in direct saying, but in the mobs and stories told of. The scorpion is a mob from Dr. Zhark's Mo' Creatures Mod. Keep on the lookout for other mod features in the near future!**


	3. Two Friends and a City

**FINALLY! I mean, *cough*, thank Notch! I managed (somehow) to complete the third chapter for the story! The Fates seem to be teaming up on me...**

Night began to descend in the Dead Lands.

Two figures, one tall and hooded, the other short and inhumanly shaped, appeared in the mouth of the Shadowcave. The pair paused and the tall figure strode down the stone steps to the dark land below, his shorter companion scurrying after him. Once they had reached flat terrain, the tall figure continued on into a wide, 5x3 tunnel, barely breaking its stride. As soon as it had reached the end of the shaft, the hooded figure straightened, and stretched out one iron-shod, diamond-clawed hand to press a button. A _hiss_ revealed another passageway which led deeper into the mountain. Looking over its shoulder, the figure called to the other creature in a metallic, almost mechanical voice.

"Must you dawdle, Treflex? We are in a kind of a hurry here, if you hadn't known."

The short creature scuttled into the lighter part of the tunnel, its seven eyes looking up at the tall being with a look of…was it distaste? You couldn't tell with the eight eyes all glaring in one direction.

"Hey! I wasn't the one who made those cave-steps so freakin' _narrow_! Why, they're barely a block wide!"

Treflex was a spider. Born three centuries ago, under the reign of the Spider Queen Shadrex, the little arachnid had seen his fair share of war and peace. More than his fair share, even. With the general characteristics of a spider (eight legs, dark-colored body, jaws), Treflex had one telling difference: his seven eyes were all a sharp green, streaked with blue veins. His mother, Luvox, used to say: 'Why, his eyes could stop an army of chargin' Slimes!'

It wasn't until a year after he reached his preening age that Treflex realized how much truth his mother's words carried. He was exploring the dark caves of a ravine he'd fallen into when a band of twenty hostile, medium-sized Slimes hopped out of a rear tunnel. The Slimes were hostile and hadn't fed in months, so they quickly planned out which part of Treflex belonged to who and they charged. Treflex, backed up against the cavern wall, opened his eyes wide at the sight of the charging Slime army.

And in seconds, the twenty green monsters froze.

Treflex was terrified and curious at the same time, but he reached out and tentatively poked one of the leftmost slimes. The gelatin-like monster, still frozen, toppled over the cavern edge and disappeared from sight. The other nineteen Slimes didn't move.

That was when Treflex discovered his Medusa-like ability to paralyze living creatures.

Over time, especially during the Spider-Zombie War, the plucky little arachnid found that his ability could be resisted. One lucky zombie had sheltered behind a fallen obsidian ruin, and came out unscathed from Treflex's gaze. Treflex, frustrated, leaped and kicked the zombie into a fire. It never came back.

Treflex also found that he could negate the effects of his petrifying stare. One sunny day, he was strolling around a spider park when Wevox, an attractive female spider whom Treflex kind of liked, appeared from behind a tree. Treflex jumped back, frightened from her sudden appearance, then his features softened and he stared at the female spider, eyes going wide…

Then _poof_! Wevox froze in place.

Teflex panicked. Not only was Wevox popular among the male spiders (who were sure to come after him), she was the current Spider Queen's daughter. Treflex spent half an hour trying to 'unfreeze' Wevox, when he gave up and glared at the frozen Wevox in frustration.

The effect was instantaneous. Another _poof_ and the female spider collapsed to the ground, exhausted from standing in her frozen position. She then got up and blinked wide, brown eyes at Treflex.

Treflex apologized nearly a hundred times, but Wevox simply laughed and replied to Treflex, suggesting that he should come over for supper. Treflex couldn't believe his ears. The most beautiful female spider for miles around was actually asking for him to come over for supper!

The pair married (as far as spiders marry) and traveled the world of Minecraftia, meeting other animals from unfamiliar species and learning languages, making new friends and lasting partnerships.

But their century of happiness and joy didn't last. The War of Shattered Blades descended upon the people of all species, and soon, every spider was called to fight alongside their army and those of their allies, the Scorpions, the Skeletons, the Hawks, the Endermen, the Werewolves, and the Humans. They called themselves the Enderhawk Scorponi, or the Enderhawks for short. They were battling against age-old enemies, the Zombies, the Creepers, the Dark Pegusi, the Snakes, the Snow Ogres (Yeti),the Blazes, the Magma-slimes, and the Slimes. This faction named themselves the Iron Fangs. During the final battle of the two factions, Treflex and Wevox were battling against a line of Snakes. The slithering creature soon overcame the pair, and Treflex was left lying on the rocky ground, stunned and nearing unconsciousness. The last thing the little spider saw before he slipped into blackness was Wevox, thrashing about as she was carried off by a pair of Snow Ogres.

That was eight years ago. Now here Treflex sat, the victim of two wars and countless skirmishes, being ordered about by an Enderman. Somehow, he just didn't think that the Enderman was being fair.

The Enderman in question was born long ago, before the creation of territories and civilization. His name was Reznor, and he was one of the first creatures created by Notch and Herobrine. This made Reznor a Great Being. There were many other Great Beings on Minecraftia, however most were killed during the War of Shattered Blades. Additionally, while, the Ancients' Wrath took place, many of the Great Beings who still existed in that time were wiped out due to…_un_natural causes. Reznor himself just barely escaped intact, but he lost both hands and both feet, as well as his left leg. His missing body parts were replaced by a mysterious, hooded human Reznor met in the Ancient Forest. A mix of Iron, Gold, Diamond, Obsidian, and Aetherite were forged together to create Reznor's claws and his leg replacement. The Enderman never met the hooded human again.

Despite Reznor's unusual appearance, many Minecraftia species worshipped him as a god. Many of the native werewolf tribes accepted Reznor as a leader, while years later, Reznor commanded an army of blazes in the First War of the Nether.

Even better for Reznor was the addition of the Endermen to the world of Minecraftia. Notch's brother, Herobrine, created a hideous creature which he dubbed the "Dragon of the End", or simply the "Enderdragon". Herobrine's expectations were for the the Enderdragon to wipe out all life on Minecraftia, as well as to have the world destroyed. Notch, the creator of Minecraftia, supported by his Aetherian allies, was forced to eradicate all life on his precious world and encase it in ice and snow. This prevented Minecraftia from being obliterated by the wrath of the Enderdragon. Casting a highly complex, ancient form of sorcery and spells, Notch imprisoned the Enderdragon in a dark, blank land called, simply, "The End". Notch then quickly populated the world with Endermobs, and left the world unaltered. Herobrine was then banished to the Nether for charges of disobedience, unlawful destruction of worlds, and the misusing of his creational powers.

None of the Endermobs placed in the End survived, except for the Endermen. These creatures were based off of the original two Endermen, Reznor and Krallznir, and inherited many of their features, such as their tall figure, their arm length, and, of course, the ability to interact with the blocks which made up Minecraftia. Even though all the End Portals had been sealed, Endermen were able to teleport through and spawn in the Overland, much to Notch's disappointment.

Reznor quickly became established as the leader of the Overland Endermen, while Krallznir traveled to the End and took command there. Reznor was a daunting figure, relentless in war yet merciful during peace. No one knew which side of him would show anytime.

Unfortunately, Reznor's claim to fame and popularity decreased substantially, due to a band of traitorous, rogue Endermen led by Nelzar, the former second-in-command of the Enderman Army. Reznor's allies instantly became enemies. He was hounded out, ignored, and exiled. Nobody would speak to him again.

Then he met Treflex.

Reznor developed a lasting friendship with the plucky little spider, and together, they traveled the world. Exploring areas previously uncharted, mapping out new journeying routes, and meeting new creatures, they saw – and created – wonders.

However, today, Reznor was in an extremely bad mood. Ignoring Treflex's complaints, the Enderman turned and stalked down the second tunnel. Treflex, rolling his eyes, followed. The tunnel opened up into a huge cavern, reaching far up to the tip of the mountain and as wide as an ocean. Inside, hundreds of night-dwelling mobs milled about, some deep in conversation and others keeping to themselves. Bats flew overhead, carrying messages to different homes, while silverfish darted from stone block to stone block. Reznor sighed in relaxation. This was his city. This was the city of his friends, his people, his allies. This was the city of Tenebra Arcti, the cave-city.

Tenebra Arcti was a one-of-a-kind city. Individual and compound homes were carved, literally, out of the cave wall itself, and shallow nesting pits were inlaid with redstone and gold decorations. At the north cave wall, a network of mineshafts was set as a way of getting materials. And, in the center of the bustling city, was the center, Capi Nocte. As Reznor and Treflex strolled closer to the obsidian tower, they saw the double doors open and they watched as a figure stepped outside, breathing in the fresh cavern air.

It was their leader, their friend, their savior. It was the Human Ariana Fall.

**That's Chapter 3! Keep on the lookout for the next chapter; see you soon!**


	4. Stories, Stories, Stories!

**Hello again, my fellow readers! My apologies for taking so long, but to make up for it, I made this chapter super long and super detailed. Enjoy the chapter!**

"Whoa!"

The exclamation of surprise was torn from Ryker as both he and Lexarus reached the gates of Antares' Castle. He stared up in awe at the immense height and length of the City. Set directly behind the walls and the main gate, the City of Tyrfing stood at a height of nearly 2,500 blocks, with a length of approximately 9,000 blocks. Right in the center of the City was the Castle. The Castle itself towered over all the buildings, even the tallest. No one knew exactly how tall the Castle was; however, there was a rumour that the stone fortress reached over 5,000 blocks. Lexarus, standing a little ahead and to the left of Ryker, heard the interjection and grinned. Many a traveler had been awed by the immense height and sheer size of Tyrfing and the Castle. In fact, Lexarus himself had been a little wide-eyed when he saw his first glimpse of the castle. He was being chased by a trio of creepers, however, and didn't really have enough time to stop and stare.

"Yes, Ryker, 'whoa' would be a sufficient enough word."

Ryker completely ignored Lexarus' comment, still staring at the tall buildings in front of him. He couldn't pull his gaze away from the stone bricked and iron-shod houses.

Suddenly, the _clomp-clomp-clomp_ of iron boots sounded over the gate, on the wall. Lexarus directed his eyes to the palisade above the gate.

_Clomp-clomp-shuffle_. _Clomp-scrape_. _Clomp-clomp-BANG!_

Ryker literally jumped from his standing position, losing his balance and nearly toppling over. Those iron-shod armour pieces created quite a noise when hit!

A shadow rose over the gate-palisade, revealing an armoured figure. _A guard, by the looks of him_, thought Ryker. Another man appeared behind the first, hobbled over and slightly limping. An obvious dent in the knee-guard of the second man could be seen. Before Ryker could say anything, the first man cupped his hand around his mouth and spoke, in a very deep, rumbling voice.

"Halt! Reveal to us your names and your reason for passage!"

Lexarus replied lightly, "It is I, Lexarus the Ranger, Commandant of the 3rd Corps, with a guest, Ryker of Richmond! We have come for the prophecy!"

Ryker turned sharply at the last sentence. "You never mentioned any prophecy!"

The Ranger made a gesture. "I'll explain later, just not now. Give me a moment." He began to speak to the guards again. "Do hurry. We aren't getting any younger down here, you know!"

"Our apologies, sir!" The limping man rushed, still hobbling, to the gate-lever. He gave a heave and the gate door slid back into the wall. Ryker raised his eyebrows at this, Lexarus catching the reaction and explaining. "We don't have any rope mechanisms in Minecraftia, so we rely on an alternative form of power: redstone." As the pair passed through the gate, the Ranger relaxed. "Safe and sound at last. We'll have absolutely no worries here, Ryker. I would spend my first few days shopping… then again, maybe not." Lexarus' voice faltered a little, then petered out and stopped altogether. The Ranger had stopped walking as well, so Ryker halted. Lexarus' gaze was fixed on the scene in front of them.

The city seemed to be completely abandoned. Blood stained the streets and the walls of buildings, and bodies littered the cobbled ground.

"Oh no…!" The blond Ranger started at a run toward the Castle. When the two reached the stone-bricked fortress, they heaved the door open…

Inside the Castle, hundreds of civilians huddled in the Great Hall. In addition, injured and heavily wounded militia and soldiers were laid out on the gold floor, twisting and moaning in pain, leaving bloodstains everywhere. At the back of the crowd, a large pavilion was set up, with a sign pointing to it and reading _Command Room_. Lexarus pointed to it now. "Looks like that's where we're heading now. Come on, and keep up." Pushing their way through the crowd, the pair carefully made their way toward the stone-bricked room. The Ranger reached the room and pulled open the door.

Inside, the Command Room was larger than it seemed from outside. Illuminated by twenty brightly flaring torches, the stone-bricked room was set up similar to an office. Bookshelves took up the entire left wall, while an enormous painting dominated the right wall. Towards the back, there was a crafting table and a number of furnaces. However, the centerpiece of the entire room was the round table which took up two-thirds of the room space, set squarely in the middle of the area. Laid out on the table was a large, 3-D map, displaying the world of Minecraftia. That is, displaying as much of the world that could fit on the map.

On this particular chart, buildings, landmarks, and natural structures rose up, seeming to be built out of mini blocks. Ryker detected movement on the map, but before he could mention it to Lexarus, a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Ah, there you are at last, Lexarus! Thought we lost you to the spiders, we had." The voice belonged to a tall, white-coated man. He wore an ornate golden crown atop his head, resting on the man's close-cropped, brown hair. His suit of iron-scaled armour was partially covered by the white cloak he wore, and as he stood, Ryker could hear the scrape of iron against stone brick. The man's ice-blue eyes turned to regard Ryker. "Now who's this we have here?"

Lexarus bowed. "My lord, I introduce to you Ryker Lanceton, of Richmond, Virginia. Ryker, this is Antares, commander, leader, and King of Tyrfing."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Ryker of Richmond."

"Thank you, my lord. Ryker would do just fine."

"Ryker it is, then."

Lexarus shuffled forward toward the table, observing the movements on the map. His finger traced a burnt, blackened trail winding its way through the plains. "Well now, what happened here?"

Another hooded man sitting at the table answered. "Razcal's army attacked the city. They brought too many troops for us to deal with, and they managed to drag siege weapons here. We were forced to burn the trails leading to the city in order to deter his forces. Even then, they outnumbered us more than three to one. The man's tone seemed frustrated.

Lexarus started at the mention of Razcal's name, but said nothing.

A diamond-clad warrior stood forward. "What's more, they cut off our redstone power lines and the main supply routes, so we have absolutely no means of communication and no way to get provisions. Either we stay here and die slowly of starvation, or we attack first and die in the attempt."

Ryker voiced his comment. "There's also the chance of our enemies attacking us first."

Everyone in the room turned to look at Ryker. Ryker felt a bit embarrassed now that he realized he spoke aloud. "Sorry, I guess I was just… a bit impulsive…"

Antares placed his hand on Ryker's shoulder. "Don't be, you made good sense."

The diamond-armoured man nodded in agreement. "Perhaps we might make use of you as a strategist?" His tone was light and had a note of humour.

Lexarus spoke then. "Well, with a bit of training, he'll become a warrior, that's for sure. Let me tell you about our trek through Thorntree forest…" He trailed off as a wild-eyed soldier burst into the room.

The diamond-clad warrior started forward in anger. "I am sorry for this intrusion, my lord…" he began, glancing at Antares in apology.

The lord of Tyrfing waved a hand in dismissal. "No matter, Jarnac. Let's hear what the man has to say first. There is time for recriminations later." He looked at the guard. "What news do you have for us, Cynar?"

"My lord, pardon my interruption. I understand this is a gross breach of protocol…" Antares waved his hand again in dismissal of the apology. "but never mind that, I suppose. The message I bring to you is from Captain Vance."

Jarnac, Lexarus, and the hooded man all inhaled sharply. Antares remained calm and composed. Ryker edged over to Lexarus' side. "What's going on?"

Lexarus shook his head in anxiety. "Captain Elker Vance is the Head of Security and Chief of Intelligence. If he has sent a message, then he has bad news to tell."

The guard continued. "The Captain says to tell you that his men have spotted the skeleton skirmish lines moving forward towards the gate. They seem to be bringing some sort of heavy artillery."

The castle lord's expression darkened. "Well, things have come to a head much quicker than expected. The young lad was right after all." He turned to face the other occupants of the room. "Let's check out the situation, shall we?" And, so saying, the white-coated baron led the way out of the Command Room, the wild-eyed guard and Jarnac following right behind.

Ryker stepped out into a dark city. "Night already," he mused to himself. Then he stopped short. It was only a half hour ago they entered the city, and at that time it was still midmorning! Ryker attempted to piece together a probable solution but came up with nothing. Lexarus noticed Ryker's confusion.

"This night wasn't brought naturally. Razcal summoned it. Obviously he has become stronger than when I last met him."

Ryker continued walking. "By the way, who is this Razcal?"

Lexarus took a deep breath. "It's a long story."

"I'm good with stories."

"Well then, I suppose it all started about a decade or so ago…"

Lexarus, age 14, finished his breakfast and washed and scrubbed it in the sink. Putting the plate away for further use, he ran to his room and opened a chest, taking out a large backpack and his iron pickaxe. Reaching farther into the chest, he retrieved an iron axe, an iron sword, and a stone shovel, along with a leather chestplate and a pair of leather boots. He heard the front door of his house open. "Come on, bro, it can't take you _that_ long to get your kit packed!"

Lexarus grinned. His friend Typhon had absolutely no sense of patience. The last time they went exploring, Typhon had left before Lexarus finished packing! "Just give me a minute; I need to find one last item!"

"Where _was_ it? Lexarus rummaged through every one of the piles of items which littered his floor, but he couldn't find that object!

The item in question was an Eye of Ender.

Ever since Lexarus' father was killed by endermen, Lexarus made it his number one priority to hunt down the trio that did it. He had managed to kill one, but the other two evaded him ever since then. Later, Lexarus realized that he would need help to find the three-block-tall monsters.

And he met Typhon.

Typhon was born in the town of Varthyn, one of the Council Cities that ruled the valley. The council consisted of the towns of Varthyn, Jakarth, and Char-Zion, the largest of the three.

These cities, as well as the surrounding townships, lived in relative peace…until the Stronghold was discovered.

The Stronghold was an immensely large underground fortress, and it was stationed right below Varthyn. Three unlucky miners chanced upon one of the walls of the Stronghold, and they mined straight through it, revealing a narrow tunnel built out of stone bricks. As the trio advanced farther down the tunnel, they found that the entire place was built out of stone bricks and iron bars, with the occasional iron door.

One miner stepped on a stone pressure plate, activating an iron door that locked him into a small room. The other two miners, being the cowards they were, ran out of the area, hearing an explosion behind them. They entered another room, this one having more substantial room then the one they just left. The second miner decided at that time to mine out a few of the stone bricks to take home with him, as a souvenir. Unfortunately, luck was not in the miners' favor this day, and when the man mined out five of the stone bricks, a _silver-grey__monster, armed with the spines of Herobrine and with mad, night-black eyes_, as described by the third miner in his journal, leaped out and immediately started wriggling toward the man, and when the miner retaliated, waves of dozens of these monsters (now known as silverfish) appeared from the adjoining stone bricks and all of them began to attack the unfortunate miner.

The final surviving miner ran away from the horrible sight and sprinted with haste through three tunnels, two doors and five rooms, until he ended up in a large, well lit room, with an altar in the center. On this altar, there were twelve odd-looking blocks, of types that the miner had never seen before. The bottom half of these blocks was an odd, discolored tan color. The top half of these blocks was a color combination of both black and purple. There was an odd hole in the center of the blocks, on the top.

These blocks formed a frame-like shape on the altar. All of these odd blocks held green eye-like objects, except for one block, which was empty. There was a chest set off to the side of the altar, and the miner checked inside to browse the contents. There was a single green eye-thing in the chest.

The miner took the eye-thing and carefully placed it into the frame-block. There was a blinding flash, then silence once more. The miner, cowering behind the altar, tentatively took a peek over the frame…and gasped in disbelief.

The area framed by the blocks was now covered by a void-like layer. Purple, swirling particles emanated from the void.

The miner stayed hunched on the floor, staring wide-eyed at the sparkling pieces of void. For a moment, complete silence dominated. Then, a horrible sound, a cross between a screech and a growl, filled the room.

"_Esh'__carum_!" The exclamation was torn from the miner as the sound waves rebounded off the walls and hit his eardrums. The screech hadn't stopped yet, it simply kept going, emanating from the void.

And, all of a sudden, it stopped.

The miner, huddled on the floor, hands covering his ears, looked up now. What he saw was a creature from the darkest nightmares, drawn from the depths of memories.

An Enderman rose from the altar, covered with black and purple particles. Behind it were six more Endermen, and following these were two Blazes, their rotating rods radiating orange heat waves. The last to arrive was a Shadow Pegasus, a jet-black horse with a gleaming coat and similarly colored wings, also covered with the particles.

Atop the Shadow Pegasus, resplendent in polished obsidian armour and a purple-and-black cloak, wielding a glowing obsidian broadsword, was a man. The man in question had slightly tanned skin, dark, close-cropped hair, and heavily muscled arms. His military-rate leather belt was slung from the right hip to the left thigh, with it hanging loose at the left. A long dirk was held in a scabbard at the right hip, while three dangerous-looking war knives were sheathed in a leather tri-scabbard towards the left hip.

It may have been the weapons which played a part in the miner's fear, but the main reason why he was so terrified of the cloaked, mounted warrior in front of him was due to the warrior's eyes.

For a man like the one in front of the miner, you might have expected his eyes to be a sharp blue, or even a light turquoise. This man's eyes were pure white and _glowing_.

The warrior spoke now to the miner. His voice was deep and gravelly, with an accented timber. "A miner, eh? I suppose I'll have to thank you for opening the portal. Would you be so kind to tell me your name?"

The miner didn't even hesitate. He wasn't going to get on this man's angry side! "It's Droth, my lord. Thared Droth."

The warrior smiled, but whether it was genuine or not escaped Droth. "Pleased to meet you, Thared. My name is Brine."

Droth hesitated now. "Er…_just_ Brine, my lord?"

Brine smiled again, but this time, the smile didn't reach his eyes. "No, actually, my name is _Lord_ Brine. I am lord and master…of the Netherworld."

Thared Droth gulped. He knew he did something to annoy Brine, but he wasn't sure what. "I am… sorry, my lord. I… didn't know…"

Brine's expression now grew hard and cold. "You should learn to keep your mouth shut sometimes, Droth. It might get you into trouble sometime…" He trailed off.

Droth backed away a few steps now. "I think I'll be going now, if that's okay with you, my lord…"

"Actually, Thared, would you consider joining my army?"

Droth continued toward the door. "Eh, no, my lord, sorry."

Brine hissed a command to the Enderman standing beside him. The black creature teleported in front of Droth, stopping the miner in his tracks. Droth wriggled and squirmed, but he couldn't break the enderman's grip. "Let…me…go!"

The obsidian-armoured warrior smiled coldly once more. "You really should reconsider, Droth. Now, again, would you like to join my army?"

The stubborn miner now grew apprehensive and his kicks and blows were harder, not that it mattered to the Enderman. "I…SAID…NO!" The miner began to lose energy, however, and slowly tired, his punches and thrashes growing weaker and weaker. Brine hissed another command to the Enderman and the dark creature drew back its fist and knocked Droth unconscious.

"You really should have taken the offer, Droth. Now this is where you have ended." Brine snorted in disgust and gestured to the Enderman. "Throw him into the Nether." The Enderman put on a puzzled expression. Brine swore quietly and held out his hand, fingers outstretched, palm toward the wall. A glowing, swirling purple ball appeared and Brine quickly twisted his wrist, sending the purple ball spinning toward the wall. It hit the wall with little force and it fell to the floor, where it grew into a 4x5 obsidian frame. A swirling, purple void appeared in the frame. "There you go. Hand the human to the nearest pigman and tell it to take him to Zephyr. Make sure he doesn't kill the man, I'll need him in my army."

The Enderman screeched in reply and walked into the Nether portal, disappearing inside the purple void. Another Enderman stood guard at the portal, standing stock-still.

Brine smirked. _Soon_, he thought, _my army shall obliterate the Overworld, and capture those foolish humans. We will butcher the animals, for my monsters will need food to survive._ It was a simple plan, really. Step one was to gather his army. The bulk of this army consisted of zombie pigmen. They were hideous creatures, the result of a catastrophic experiment. The army's sharpshooter corps were made up of Nether Blazes. These creatures were native to the Nether dimension, and usually were constantly at war with each other, until Brine forged the Blaze tribes into one united force. The third regiment of Brine's army was the siege battalion. This regiment was comprised of the heavy-hitting Ghasts.

The Ghasts were not native to the Nether dimension, but unlike the zombie pigmen, they were actual, natural creatures. However, they were not _living_ creatures. A Ghast was only formed when a mob has died without their vengeance being achieved. Usually this happens when a mob's family member has been killed and the mob in question dies before taking revenge.

Ghasts were formerly very peaceful creatures, and they used to live underground, inside large, abandoned cities and massive townships. Centuries passed, and then a boy, no more than fifteen, led a force of nearly three hundred human warriors into the Ghasts' cities, burning and killing thousands of Ghasts in the process.

The poor Ghasts were taken completely by surprise, and by the time they managed to rally together, more than seven thousand had been killed or wounded by the vicious human attack. Moreover, the Ghasts had no form of attack, and even the largest Ghast warriors could do no more than fly into a human and hope that they did some damage.

An hour passed, and finally, the Ghasts turned and flew out of their cities, leaving more than twelve thousand of their number dead. The humans, in contrast, lost only twenty-seven warriors. The human leader, the boy by the name of Raiden, marched his troops back to the surface of the Overworld. Claiming the honor of defeating "the hated ghost-ones", he was granted the position of Secondleader in the massive town of Tardal by the Townleader, Ader-tael. Time passed, and eventually, the people of Tardal completely forgot about the Ghasts.

In stark contrast, the Ghasts' defeat at the hands of the humans troubled the Ghast leader, Kaelen. The surviving Ghasts had managed to fall back to the Cave of the All-Seeing Eyes, where they regrouped the entirety of the Ghast population. After Kaelen watched the last of the Ghasts arrive at the Cave, he issued one of the most well-known Ghast speeches heard for centuries:

"_My friends, we have seen troubles, experienced catastrophes, wore through the worst wars. However, this recent threat made by the humans has created an enemy of us. We shall again see daylight,__for__we are declaring war on those wretched beings!"_

Kaelen allowed for two weeks of hard training in battle tactics, strategies, self-defense, stealth, and attack movements. After three days of this training, Kaelen noticed that the Ghasts were lacking one important characteristic: weaponry. Ghasts had absolutely no way to attack other beings, except for charging head-on at targets. So, the leader decided to seek out Flamefire, the Wise One. When the Ghast leader found the hermit's cave-dwelling, Kaelen implored Flamefire for a weapon that the Ghasts could use to defeat the humans. Flamefire hesitated for a moment; he was human as well, and he didn't like to give the Ghasts a weapon that could potentially wipe out the human race. However, the Ghast leader's plea rang true, and Flamefire, raising his glowing blazerod-staff, completely altered the Mth Dimension, forever granting Ghasts the ability to cast fire charges. Kaelen, his eyes wide with astonishment at the gift that the hermit had given him, thanked Flamefire and rushed back to the Cave.

Kaelen showed the Ghasts how to fire the charges, and it took only minutes before the Ghasts caught on, and they became excited at their new weapon. Practicing more than ever, the Ghast army became a terrorizing siege force. At the end of the two-week training season, Kaelen gave his Ghast warriors yet another speech:

"_My warriors, we have been waiting for so long to destroy the humans. They sit up there in their accursed stone-dwellings, and they spawn even more warriors each day to outnumber their opponents! Warriors, give thanks to The Wise One for granting us our fire charges; pray to the great being for a victory. This day, my warriors, we strike back at the hated humans. This day, we FIGHT!"_

The Ghasts flew out of the Cave in three battalions. The first battalion, the Cardak, was led by Kaelen himself. The second battalion, the Vental, was headed by Kaelen's second-in-command, Jaerek. The final, third battalion, was captained by the Ghast army Kerdak (general), Ktael. The three hordes were flying in a tight wedge formation.

Then the three battalions emerged from the cave into daylight, and for a minute, the Ghasts halted and inhaled the fresh air. Then, Jaerek screeched a warning.

"Kaelen! Human warriors!"

"Tardalans, attack!"

"Ghasts, bombard them!"

The Ghasts wreaked havoc throughout the human army, which was led, once again, by the newly made Townleader, Raiden. Raiden attempted to stop the confusion and mayhem, but to no result. Then he called for the decimated army of Tardal to fall back to the city. Kaelen led the three battalions into the city itself, and fired fifteen simultaneous volleys all over Tardal. Chaos and destruction ruled over the battlefield, which was quickly turning into a massacre field. Raiden, who had somehow survived up until now, called out a second command for the town to evacuate. Sprinting to the open fields of the Plain of Isolation, the Townleader shouted a final command for the remaining Tardalan warriors to switch to bows and defend the fleeing townspeople. Ktael led the final Ghast charge against the surviving Tardalan soldiers. Unfortunately, the Kerdak was struck down by a volley of powered arrows. Kaelen took the lead now, and screeched a terrible battle cry.

"_Cre-tael-jarst!__Cre-tael-jarst!__Cre-tael-jarst!"_

It was the last thing that many of the Tardalan soldiers heard this day. Terrified and utterly ruined, the remaining Tardalan warriors fled across the Plain. They did not get far.

The Ghasts returned to the burning ruin of Tardal. There, they cleared out an area for the wounded to rest in. They counted up their casualties: twenty-eight were dead, while fifty-seven were injured, fifteen badly. The dead included: Ktael, the Kerdak, Vexorl, one of the Ghast captains, and Thorak, the army's tactical commander. Kaelen, the Ghast leader, was badly wounded and had severe arrow punctures scoring his left flank, as well as a sword slash scoring his back as a result of flying too close to the human soldiers. The kind, intelligent Ghast leader died of his injuries later in the day. The Ghasts returned to the Cave of the All-Seeing Eyes, but they were hounded out by the skeletons and the spiders now living in the Cave. Under the rule of Jaerek, the former second-in-command, the Ghasts found a _"purple, swirling void-block"_ framed by obsidian. The Ghast population flew through the portal, and, once through, they saw that they were inside a lava-world, with reddish, meat-like terrain and shining, white crystals poking out of some of the cliffs. Jaerek led the Ghasts deeper into the lava-world, which they dubbed _'The Nev'cthar"_, or 'The Fire-world'. They eventually reached what looked like a fortress, with bridges spanning the gaps between each section. This, they named _Tartarus_, the dark castle. Here, they said their farewells to each other and the former Ghast Army split apart. Each Ghast wept constantly for everything that they realized they had lost.

The story was retold to Brine by Velsok, a Ghast elder who was a former veteran of the Battle of Tardal. The city was never rebuilt; however, the surviving citizens of the town apparently had managed to reach Keltire, one of the larger castle-cities of the realm.

Brine shook his head to clear the nostalgia from his mind. "Gettin' darned sentimental again," the warrior muttered under his breath. He turned to the Enderman stationed by the Nether portal. "Go to Zephyr. Find Jaerek, the Ghast-leader, and tell him to rendezvous with me and the Endermen at the Plains of Isolation."

The Enderman hissed in reply and stepped into the portal, disappearing from the altar room. Brine glanced around at the other five Endermen and the two Blazes, then mounted the Shadow Pegasus. "Let us depart from this place," the obsidian-clad warrior declared, then, with a wave of his hand, a third, black-purplish portal opened up at the far side of the room. This portal was framed in darkgrass and obsidian. Brine pressed the Pegasus' flank lightly with his spurs and the winged horse trotted into the portal. The two Blazes followed behind and the five Endermen took up the rear. Then the Nether portal and the black-purple portal both disappeared, and the altar room darkened, leaving absolutely no trace that there was ever anyone here.

Brine and his escorts were teleported through the portal onto a sunny, lit, grassy field. "The Plains of Isolation," the warrior sighed. The Plains was a well-known area, but its open field made it a poor scout area and its dry, hot climate put off most travelers. However, it was the one area of the realm that had seen the most battles. The First Battle of the Plains was fought here between the Scorpions and the Serpents, while the Ruffle-Tumble skirmish occurred here when two minor city-states of the Hevalran Realm decided to start a battle over it (for what reason, only Flamefire knows). The Second Battle of the Plains took place here during the War of Shattered Blades. Brine shuddered. _That_ time was one of the darkest moments in the history of Minecraftia. Every race played a part in the war, and Brine himself led the Blazes and the Pigmen against the humans.

Brine heard a call, and, turning, he saw figures marching over the rise. The Pigmen were here.

Calling out a greeting, he unmounted and strolled towards the army to shake hands with the Pigman general, Tol-lek. It was like shaking hands with a piece of scaly meat.

"Gol amrok, Brine," Tol-lek said in Paeltek, the ancient language established and used by the Pigmen of the Nether. "Val sa'ine duri dek val tekke."

Brine was fluent in many languages, including Primary English, Three-dev English, Scree'en, the spider language, and Paeltek. He translated the first phrase to be "Good afternoon," and he interpreted the second phrase as "A fine day for a battle." "Yekt, val sa'ine duri et ven." He replied. (Translation: "Yes, a fine day it is.")

After the pleasantries were out of the way, and the Ghasts, the Blazes, and the Endermen had arrived, Brine marched his army across the Plains, until they saw an immense castle-city in the distance. This city was the city of Varthyn, one of the Council cities in the realm. Brine leered at the city for a moment, and then he smirked. "This'll be a fine city to start my conquest at," he murmured to himself.

The nest day, Brine launched the attack.

Within an hour, the city of Varthyn was in complete chaos. Confusion reigned over the battlefield, and warriors died on both sides. Only seven townspeople managed to escape. One of them was Typhon.

And that was how Lexarus met Typhon.

"By Notch, Lex, how long does it take to find one object?! I've been out here for _hours_!"

Lexarus grimaced. Sometimes his friend's impatience got on his nerves. "It's been five minutes… okay, maybe ten," he called. "You can learn to wait."

"I've _already_ learned how to wait. One too many times."

"Aha!" Lexarus exclaimed as his fingers closed around a round object hidden deep in the chest. Pulling it out, he grunted in triumph. In his hand was a round, green and black object. This was an Eye of Ender. He obtained the Eye when he killed the Enderman so long ago, and he had kept the Eye for years, using it only to track the other two Endermen. "I've found it!"

"Well then hurry on out here!"

"Coming!" Lexarus rushed outside to meet his friend, shutting the door behind him. The door closed with a _creak._"Got to oil that door sometime," he muttered to himself.

Typhon Del-Trovan was sixteen years old, with a muscular frame and an athletic build. He sported unusual green eyes streaked through with purple, giving him an End-like look. His features were sharp, from his high-set cheekbones to his abrupt shoulders. He was also the son of the Varthynian Townleader, Andrac Del-trovan.

Typhon was trained as a warrior, guard, knight, captain, and general, but he was also a teacher, scientist, librarian, cook, blacksmith, and explorer. He had no recognizable fighting style, utilizing a variety of attack moves and powers combined with defensive techniques and reflexive skills. He was studied the arts of karate, tae-kwon-do, jujitsu, and kung fu, and was skilled in kajukenbo, okichitaw, jeet-kun-do, and kampfringen. However, Typhon's most deadly power was his skill in the magical arts, for he was a sorcerer, necromancer, alchemyst, polymorpher, illusionist, pyromancer, warlock, psionic, elementalist, chronomage, enchanter, supernaturalist, technopather, and bio-manipulator. Typhon was undoubtedly one of the most dangerous men in Minecraftia, possibly in the dimension. Only Flamefire, the hermit mage, could match Typhon's skill and power. Not even Typhon's father possessed this type of raw energy.

Typhon had many teachers and mentors. His first was Brine, the Nether-mage. The second was Flamefire himself, the cave-dwelling hermit. Next was Vorinclex, the Dreadnought Psionic. Then, Typhon traversed the barren landscape of the Wyver Desert to be mentored by Reznor, the Enderman Lord. From him Typhon learned the arts of illusion and technopathy. Typhon took a final journey to meet with Sheoldred, the Shadowed Terror, to be taught in polymorphing, bio-manipulating (shapeshifting), and the supernatural arts. Then Typhon, content with his knowledge, traveled the world to gain experience and skill.

All of Typhon's training began far earlier than when Brine's army attacked Varthyn. His first lesson was given by Brine when Typhon was five.

By the time that Brine launched the attack, unfortunately, Typhon had lost much of his knowledge and his power. He could still do alchemy, and pyromancy, manipulation, and enchanting he could remember. However, those five arts were not enough to stop the combined powers of Brine, Tol-lek, and Jaerek. Typhon ran for his life along with six other townspeople, and they made for Tyrfing. Along the journey, two more men died, succumbing to their wounds, while a third was killed, murdered by Brine.

At Tyrfing, Typhon began his re-learning of the magical arts, beginning with sorcery. Over the next three years, he studied battle strategy and tactics, and practiced swordcraft and archery. Every day, during his archery lessons, he would notice a blond-haired boy, the same height as himself, practicing on the archery range as well. This boy was Lexarus Xandrell, the fifteen-year-old boy who would later become Typhon's oldest and most trusted friend.

"Are you _finally_ready?"

Lexarus started, shaken out of his thoughts. "Yes. I found the Eye, which should aid us in the Cave."

Typhon shuddered. "I still don't know why you insist on keeping that…thing. It is despicable."

"It's the only object that can help us in finding those two Endermen."

"What about Excelsior or Thundrax? Surely your sword has some kind of special enchantment?" Typhon's voice grew more and more strained.

When Lexarus spoke, his voice was calm and reasonable. "Excelsior has Sharpness VII, Fire Aspect III and Bane of Arthropods IV. Your sword has Sharpness X, Smite VI, Knockback IV, Thorns V, Aqua Affinity III, Looting VII, and Efficiency X. Our swords are powerful, especially yours, but unless you can create a new enchantment then the swords won't help us track down the Endermen."

Typhon sighed. He simply despised the Eyes of Ender; they were literally the Eyes of the End. If you used an Eye, you never knew what could be looking right back at you. Many a man had been killed simply because he used an Eye too many times. Each time one used an Eye, the Eye fed off their life energy itself, eventually killing a being after too many usages. And even if a human didn't use it too often, an Eye would lead Endermen straight to them, which meant instant death. "Alright, you're making good sense…but I still have doubts."

"Of course you do. I promise you, once we're finished with this, I'll sell it to some trader or throw it down a ravine."

"Eyes of Ender are immune to gravity; they float in the air towards the Strongholds."

"Then I'll toss it in lava. Agreed?"

"That sounds perfect to me!"

"Then let's proceed."

"Hold on, let's do an equipment check. Warrior's habit," Typhon stated with a wry smile.

Lexarus grinned in reply. He knew that condition all too well. "Right. You do the list this time."

"Sword?"

"Check."

"Axe?"

"Check."

"Bow?"

"Check."

"Pickaxe?"

"Check."

"Shovel?"

"Check."

"Hoe?"

"Why in Notch's name do we need a hoe?"

"Right. Let's do armour. Helmet?"

"Check."

"Chestplate?"

"Check."

"Leggings?"

"Check."

"Boots?"

"Check."

"Arrows?"

"Check. I've got a few dozen here with me."

"Good. Flint and steel?"

"Check."

"Crafting table?"

"Check."

"Furnace?"

"Check."

"Brewing stand?"

"Why would we need a brewing stand for?"

"Good question." Typhon snickered. "Anvil?"

"If we're bringing a two-ton anvil along, you're carrying it."

"Okay, forget the anvil. Spare wood?"

"Check. I have 256 blocks."

"Good Notch! Okay, finally, spare food?"

"Check. I have 32 cooked chicken and 73 apples."

"Okay. And, of course, I have everything _except_the anvil, so we're good. Ready?"

"I'm just _raring_ to go!"

"Then let us depart!"

The two friends left Lexarus' home to travel to the Cave of Shadows, the abandoned former home of the cave spiders. Lexarus believed that the two Endermen had established a home there, what with the Cave being dark and unusually warm, the ideal temperatures for the End-creatures. Typhon stiil harbored doubts about the journey; they would have to camp at night _in the wide, open plains_, vulnerable to all sorts of wild,, hostile mobs. Typhon didn't mind this in itself; it was the added responsibility of looking after his lifelong friend that troubled him. Then he shook his worries away. He'd seen firsthand for himself how well a warrior Lexarus was. His friend's specialty was archery; Lexarus simply excelled in accuracy and range. However, he was also an excellent swordsman, employing a unique _impetuoso_ fighting style. Additionally, his abilities as a master strategist and tactician outshone those of everyone else in Tyrfing. Not even the king's chief tactician, the knight Jarnac, had skills that could match Lexarus'. This was partly why, Typhon believed, Lexarus was instantly accepted for Ranger training when he applied for the Ranger Force. But the Ranger Force was another story, for another time.

_One week later…_

The two friends were exhausted from the multiple skeleton and zombie attacks each night during their expedition. Despite their condition, the two friends were overawed by the sight of the Cave of Shadows when they reached Trûman's Peak at dawn. The Cave's yawning mouth resembled the maw of a zombie, complete with fang-like stalactites and stalagmites, along with raw iron and coal exposed near the roof of the Cave. Lexarus took a tentative step forward, then gained confidence and strolled towards the Cave. Typhon hesitated as well, but eventually jogged after his friend.

At the entrance to the Cave, Lexarus reached into his backpack. He pulled out the Eye of Ender. Placing both his hands on either side, he gazed straight into the Eye, then threw it up high into the air, where it rose a few meters and stopped. It turned in the direction of the Cave, then flew all the way into the gaping cavern, vanishing from view. "Come on!" Lexarus rushed into the Cave, nearly disappearing from Typhon's view.

"Hey, wait up!" Typhon rushed after his friend terrified of losing him. Who knew what dwelled in this Cave?

There was a loud thump, then a bloodcurdling scream. But this scream didn't sound human. Typhon sprinted faster, then, before he knew it, he entered an enormous cavern inside the Cave, lit up by multiple glowstone stalactites. Inside was Lexarus, facing off against two evil-looking Endermen. One Enderman had a nasty slash scarring his face across his eye, while the second Enderman seemed unharmed but equally dangerous. Both were armed with obsidian swords and had murderous looks in their eyes.

_Obsidian swords? That's impossible!_ Typhon quickly unstrung his bow, whipped out three arrows, and aimed it towards the nearest Enderman, who just so happened to be the scarred one. Typhon then released all three arrows at once, a move he liked to call the _triple-bolt_. Two arrows slammed into the Enderman at maximum speed, throwing the creature off balance. The third arrow missed and sailed high in the cavern, lost from view. Glancing at his friend, Typhon watched as Lexarus initialized a top-speed spinning attack, his sword Excelsior outstretched, creating a bladed whirlwind. Lexarus, a blade-tornado now, spun dizzyingly over and over again towards the cowering Enderman. The whirlwind slashed into the End-creature, and it gave a drawn-out howl of pain. Then it lashed out with its sword and caught Excelsior by the edge, flipping Lexarus into the air. Typhon gave a gasp of fright as his friend landed, winded, on the stone ground, at the mercy of the Enderman. And everyone knew that Endermen never showed mercy. Muttering an ancient incantation, Typhon balled his right hand into a fist, then opened it outwards rapidly.

And the cavern exploded in blinding light and smoke.

When the light cleared up, the cavern was a mess. Shards of stone and cobble littered the ground, and coal, iron, and gold ore veins were now exposed. Light had decreased due to the explosion blowing some of the glowstone apart. Typhon looked now at the two Endermen. The one Typhon had fought, the scarred Enderman, was blasted into the far wall and killed instantly by the impact. The remaining Enderman, the one who was battling Lexarus, rose to its feet. Its left arm was a bloodied mess, completely destroyed by the explosion. _"You and your kind shall be annihilated, human,"_ the Enderman hissed in its scratchy voice, attempting to staunch the flow of blood from its wounded arm. _"You shall watch as your precious Overland is riddled with death and decay. You humans will run like the cowards you are back to your pathetic stone castles. The Shadows themselves will fight against you."_ The Enderman gestured towards the remains of the scarred Enderman. _"You have killed my brother. Your friend managed to murder our other brother. You have made many enemies this day, human."_Then the Enderman let out a raucous screech. _"The Overworld shall cower at the name of Razcal, the Avenger, the Obliterator, the Victorious! I shall destroy this world, crush it into the Nether itself. Hear my name, Razcal!"_ And with that, the Enderman disappeared from the cavern, leaving purple particles in its place.

"And that is how I, and Typhon, met Razcal, the Enderman," finished Lexarus.

**And that is Chapter Four! Did you like the flashbacks? Be sure to leave reviews when you can! If you happen to have a question, leave it in the reviews!**


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